Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Beau & Aero in Santa Monica


Beau & Aero is the curiously creative collaboration of Baelyn Neff and Jessica Seaton. This new shop in Santa Monica is the place to find vintage clothing, vintage shoes, new designers, handmade jewelry and accessories on the west side. Carefully curated, it is an eclectic combination of vintage finds (cashmere sweaters, ethnic ponchos, Pierre Cardin coats, a 1930s crocodile clutch) and newer jewelry pieces. A necklace from Seaton's own collection has three gilded snake vertebrae charms dangling from a delicate gold chain. Even the walls are adorned with works from locals like painter/illustrator/Incubus front man Brandon Boyd. Artist Jocelyn Marsh's mini dinosaur skeleton sculptures are made with metal molded from tiny bones and embellished with chains and taxidermy bat wings. Checkout the boutique website and see more of the natural and native inspirations of the shop owners.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Raw Edges Exposed @ Em and Co.


EM & Co, a West 3rd Street boutique, supplies fashion-conscious shoppers with a well-orchestrated mix of fashions from world-class designers (i.e., Vivienne Westwood, Iodice, Stella McCartney, JC de Castelbajac, Beatriz, Anna Sui), as well as innovative styles from emerging L.A. talent. Featuring over 30 lines from around the world in its gallery-like space, EM & Co is also an active supporter of local talent, hosting monthly art exhibits and other events featuring local artists and designers. Greta Back's first solo exhibit in Los Angeles, "Raw Edges Exposed," explores the various aspects and symbols of her new-found freedom. Moving to L.A. from Seattle in April 2009 was not only a fresh start, but a way to conquer her fears, particularly her fear of sharing her art with anyone. This series is an investigation of color. She dug up long-buried bits of knowledge picked up in color theory classes, while studying sculpture at the Museum School of Fine Arts in Boston, and re-learned the many ways that colors push and pull against one another. Since Gouache is a medium that doesn't blend, she chose to use pixels to represent a broader area of color, while seeing how the smaller units interact with each other, in a newly-found freedom.

December 16 - January 19, 2011
Em & Co.
7940 W. 3rd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90048

Monday, December 20, 2010

Short Winter



There is never a season without shorts in Los Angeles. Savvy ladies have been sporting pleated styles long into these winter months. Highwaisted styles are key for the right look in classic cotton and feminine silky textures. Whether she is casually running errands or out to shine, California girls dare to bare their legs through to the new year.

www.directiveswest.com